Is there are testing vets can do for possible object behind the eye...? If so, what ... & how to find who does it? (hair, house)

[2Q&Lrn&Hlp]

My cat 'Tigster' began with a slightly teary R eye 3-4 days back. 2 days ago it developed puffiness underneath it. I got an appt. w/ vet who saw him yesterday. I had been giving him MSM (for another problem) every day with his meals, not realizing it is an effective analgesic (blocks pain) besides being anti-inflammatory & antifungal (the latter was the reason for using it). . . .
So the vet gave him an exam & thinks it's only an allergy, in part because the puffiness had gone away, but this morning the eye is looking like it's small or he's wincing a bit, & it's only affecting the 1 eye, so I believe there's something in there that need to come out.

Last night he stayed in with me. I noticed 1 time this am that he scratched that eye pretty hard & repeated with his hind foot. I stopped him & he didn't repeat then. But he had also shook his head 1x but hard several times in a row. This makes me sure that something is in there that has worked its way behind the eye, as there is no more any puffiness just under the front of it.

A few years back this cat's brother Grady, who was also on MSM with each meal, had an abscess on the lower side of his face. I tried draining it but it came back. Took to vet, & when vet drained it she said she could see that it originated from behind his eye, but neither of us ever say anything in the puss that may have caused it. Grady got a shot of Penicillin (I think), + something to treat the wound with, and after several days of 'quarantine' his skin was healed & hair growing back in, so I let him out. . . . I very sorrowfully never saw him again. . . . I think he hid under the floor by the back door (where I let him in & out), and died there. (There were signs of a death there after several days.) . . .

So, I'm extremely concerned that something like that may be what is going on with 'Tigster', now.

(Our cats are our garden's rodent protectors, but I've made close friends with them, & they can sleep inside at night if they want. (The 2 lite colored ones have no choice at night.) I use a Coyote deterrent every evening, too, along the fence line bushes.) They came from a neighbor's who didn't feed them enough or get them fixed. So when some came to our yard, we have since done both for them, & they have taken care of our unwanted critters for us.)

[Rene S]

IME, regular vets know little about a cats' eyes beyond basic things like herpes or infections. If you can, try taking him to an animal opthlamalogist (sp) instead. We had a cat, Benny, who had several eye issues during his long life (20) and was a regular patient at a clinic. They were able to manage his issues and he never needed his eye removed.

We were fortunate to have a clinic about 20 minutes away from our house. I realize some people have to drive quite a distance. Still, you could ask your vet if there's a specialist nearby and see how far away it is.

[Dwatted Wabbit]

Originally Posted by Rene S

IME, regular vets know little about a cats' eyes beyond basic things like herpes or infections. If you can, try taking him to an animal opthalmologist (sp) instead. We had a cat, Benny, who had several eye issues during his long life (20) and was a regular patient at a clinic. They were able to manage his issues and he never needed his eye removed.

We were fortunate to have a clinic about 20 minutes away from our house. I realize some people have to drive quite a distance. Still, you could ask your vet if there's a specialist nearby and see how far away it is.

I have to agree with your comment on vets and kitty eyes. Our Molly had a chronic weepy eye, that's why nobody would adopt her according to the shelter. We adopted her and loved her for years.

Her eye eventually got red and redder, big and ugly, our former regular vet prescribed eye drops. So did two other vets.

One substitute vet suggested removing BOTH her eyes. Molly was about 20 at the time, yeah that will work our really well. Remove the good eye. She didn't give me a reason for dual removals.

Only one vet suggested a biopsy. The eye was nonfunctional at that point, so they put her under for a biopsy and surprise it was cancerous. Since then I've seen a couple of episodes of Dr Pol, who calls an ugly red eye in an animal "cancer eye."

They put her under to remove the eye, she started to struggle with the anesthesia and they woke her up. In retrospect, it's a no-brainer to remove a diseased nonfunctioning eye, THEN biopsy it. It ain't going to get any better.

To me this was junior vet school stuff, but four out of four vets flunked the class. Several of them had decades of experience, I find it hard to believe that a typical vet never sees a pet with cancer eye.

So yeah, specialist by all means. From my experience, a good vet is as hard to find as a good people doctor.